Monday, June 25, 2012

Thank you for your support

A few moths ago I quietly put a "Donate" button in the right margin of my blog. It was an experiment to see what it can do just by sitting there. But now that I have had a few donations come my way, I feel the need to explain why I decided to solicit donations.

I have now been blogging for a little over three years, and have a small but loyal following. One of the ways I have considered to support my blogging is by allowing ads and sponsorships on the site. Having considered that, I have ruled it out as a possibility for the moment. The reason is simple: even if I manage not to give in to the cognitive biases created by a financial relationship, there will still be the hazard of a perception of conflict. And I prefer to keep my blogging free of such real or imagined conflicts.

At the same time, when I do a meaty post, I spend considerable time on it, and often wish I had more time and resources to spend. So, I thought that direct donation through the site might be a good way to support my blogging.

The posts that seem most valuable, those deconstructing studies, take the longest time and the most effort to do. And it's no wonder: The amount of misinformation that is available to us is staggering, and it is not always clear how to filter it. Although I acknowledge that my interpretations are still informed by my own (conscious or unconscious) cognitive biases, I try to be as transparent as possible about where I am coming from.

Thank you all for your support and for encouraging me to continue this work.

So, if you like Healthcare, etc., please consider a donation (button in the right margin) to support development of this content. But just to be clear, it is not tax-deductible, as we do not have a non-profit status.
Thank you for your support!

Welcome and a disclaimer

Welcome to my blog, "Healthcare, etc."! In this blog I take the perspective of a researcher/policy wonk rather than an individual healthcare practitioner. Therefore, all opinions that I express and generalizations that I make about any issues will in no way be construed as medical advice for individual visitors / readers. All views expressed here are solely my own, and do not represent opinions of any organizations with which I am affiliated. I welcome all comments, but reserve the right not to publish paranoid or abusive rants or overt marketing pitches.

About Me

I am an independent physician health services researcher with a specific interest in healthcare-associated complications and a broad interest in the state of our healthcare system. I am also a professor of Epidemiology at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.
I am frequently invited to speak about evidence-based medicine, methods and healthcare-associated complications.
My posts have been syndicated on The Health Care Blog, KevinMD,The Healthcare Collective and other sites. They have also been cited in the New York Times. Occasionally you can also find me blogging on the British Medical Journal blog site http://www.doc2doc.bmj.com
If you would like to contact me about my research, blog posts or speaking, please e-mail me at Healthcareetcblog@gmail.com